State PCS

• 18 Oct 2022

CNG to be made from garbage in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Prayagraj

Why In News?

On October 17, 2022, Lucknow Municipal Commissioner Inderjit Singh said that on the lines of Indore, orders have been issued to set up CNG manufacturing plants from garbage in three cities of the state - Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Prayagraj.

Key Point

• It is known that on the lines of Indore, there is a preparation to make CNG from wet waste in 4 cities of Uttar Pradesh. After approval to make CNG from garbage, CNG plants will be set up on PPP model in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Prayagraj, while Gorakhpur is also in the queue.
• These will produce 34,000 kg of CNG per day and about 1,000 tonnes of waste will be used daily to make it. This will save 3.65 lakh metric tonnes of waste from going to the garbage disposal plant.
• In Lucknow and Ghaziabad, the same company Ever Enviro Resource Management Private Limited will make CNG from garbage, while in Prayagraj, Indo Enviro Integrated Solution Limited company has been given the responsibility. These companies will have to set up plants at their own expense. No financial help will be given to them by the municipal corporation.
• Lucknow and Ghaziabad municipal corporations will give 12 acres of land each to the company on a lease of one rupee, while Prayagraj and Gorakhpur municipal corporations will have to give 10 acres each. The municipal corporation will also get royalty in lieu of this land. The CNG maker will pay Rs 74 lakh each to Lucknow and Ghaziabad and Rs 56 lakh each to Prayagraj and Gorakhpur Municipal Corporations.
• After the installation of CNG plants from garbage, these four cities will reduce 2.50 lakh tonnes of Carbon Dioxide and Greenhouse Gases daily.
• For Lucknow and Ghaziabad, 300 tonnes of wet waste will be used to make CNG, while plants in Prayagraj and Gorakhpur will use 200 tonnes of waste each daily. In this way, 34000 kg CNG will be generated from 1000 tonnes of waste daily in the four cities.
• The Committee of Secretaries of the government said that the municipal corporations will have to make a way to the places where CNG plants will be installed and along with this, the municipal corporations will also have to provide electricity, water, street lighting, drainage and sewer facilities to the municipal corporation, which will also provide employment to 8000 people directly and indirectly in the plants.
• The organic manure generated from the CNG plant will be given to the farmers, which will be used for farming on the banks of Ganga and other rivers of the state. This will reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and increase the fertility of the soil. Also, the mixing of chemical fertilizers in the river water will also stop.

Rajasthan Housing Board inaugurates City Park in Jaipur

Why In News?

On October 17, 2022, Rajasthan Housing Divisional Commissioner Pawan Arora said that the City Park developed by Rajasthan Housing Board at Mansarovar in Jaipur will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on October 21.

Key Point

• The Housing Commissioner said that the work of the first phase of this ambitious project has been completed. In the first phase, the dome-like steel structure of the grand entry plaza built on the middle path, attractive fountain and the largest (213 feet) national flag of Rajasthan and the panoramic Lower Lake in an area of about 2 thousand square meters near it are the main features of this park.
• A 20 feet wide and 3.5 km long jogging track has been built in the park, on which people will be able to enjoy attractive lighting and music while touring.
• A total of 34 work orders worth Rs 61.31 crore were issued for the first phase, against which all these works have been completed with an amount of Rs 54.99 crore.
• Housing Commissioner said that in the second phase, construction of food court on the lines of Fountain Square, V.T. Road, Aravalli Marg and New Sanganer Road, Botanical Garden, Exposition Ground, Jaipur Chowpatty and upper lake works are under construction in an area of 2500 square meters, on whose completion an amount of Rs 58.54 crore is likely to be spent.
• He said that with the construction of this park developed on about 52 acres of land, lakhs of people settled in Mansarovar and its surrounding colonies will get clean air. Here 25 thousand flowering and fruit-bearing plants of 32 different species and about 40 thousand phulwari have been planted. The park has been planted in japanese Miyawaki method.
• The Housing Commissioner said that apart from the inauguration of the City Park, the Chief Minister will also inaugurate 2967 houses constructed in 15 housing schemes of 11 different cities of the state in the program. The allottees will be given possession letters of these houses by the board.
• Most of these houses belong to EWS and LIG category. This will make the dream of the needy class of people's house come true.

Power Minister launches Solar Krishi Aajeevika Yojana Portal

Why In News?

On October 17, 2022, Rajasthan Energy Minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati launched the portal of 'Solar Krishi Aajeevika Yojana' at Vidyut Bhawan.

Key Point

• The portal will help farmers and developers to set up solar power plants on barren/unused land of farmers.
• Bhanwar Singh Bhati said that the state government has prepared solar agricultural livelihood scheme for the purpose of promoting decentralized solar power plants being developed under PM-KUSUM Component-C (Feeder Level Solarization) mainly at load centers with agricultural load in rural areas.
• He said that the purpose of launching the portal of this scheme is that farmers can get electricity through solar from their nearest 33/11 GSS during the day. Along with this, through this scheme, abundant land resources of the state will be utilized by giving farmers and land owners the opportunity to lease their barren/ unusable land on the basis of pre-determined amount for setting up solar power plants.
• Bhati said that on this online portal, farmers around 33/11 KV GSS in any village can register their land for leasing for setting up solar power plants and the developers of solar power plants can also register on the portal to reach out to the registered farmers/ land owners.
• He said that after the installation of the solar plant, all the agricultural consumers around 33/11 KV GSS will get good quality electricity during the day through solar and their electricity problem will be solved.
• He informed that there is also a provision of central financial assistance in this scheme under Kusum Component C (Feeder Level Solarization) by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.
• Principal Secretary Energy and Chairman Discoms Bhaskar A. Sawant said that these plants will be set up in distributed manners. Small plants will be set up in this scheme, so that the benefit of electricity generated will be available only to the farmers of the area around the plant.
• Under this scheme, plants will be set up under feeder level solarization in PM-KUSUM Scheme-C by identifying the GSSs in the areas where the load of agricultural electricity is high.
• He said that at present 781 GSSs have been identified where agricultural load is high, on which 971 projects can be taken up and these will generate 3079 MW of electricity. With this, 2 lakh 71 thousand pumps will be solarized.
• It is known that MNRE has approved one lakh pumps, which will be gradually taken to 2 lakh pumps solarization.
• The biggest advantage of this portal will be that after the farmer registers his land on the portal, the developer will be able to see how much land has been registered on the portal by the cultivator for the installation of solar power plant. Getting all the information on the portal will promote the installation of solar power plants.
• He said that arrangements have been made by the state government to ensure that farmers get the full lease amount on time. Under this, the electricity given to the discom will be paid directly to the cultivator by deducting the lease amount from the payment to the developer and the remaining amount will be paid to the developer.

Haryana's 20 lakh farmers get Rs 340 crore Samman Nidhi

Why In News?

On October 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 12th installment of Rs 2,000 to about 20 lakh farmers of Haryana and gave the benefit of Samman Nidhi of Rs 340 crore.

Key Point

• It is known that the farmers of the state are being given financial assistance from the Central Government for farming under the 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi' scheme since 2018 and earlier the farmers of Haryana have received an amount of Rs 3754.67 crore in 11 installments.
• It is noteworthy that Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is one of the important schemes of the Government of India. Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided to small and marginal farmers who have less than two hectares (4.9 acres) of land.
• Chief Minister Mr. Manohar Lal said that 97 percent of the farmers of Haryana have directly benefited from the PM Kisan Yojana.
• He said that farmers are given six thousand rupees annually under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme. It is paid in three installments of two thousand rupees each. This money is being transferred directly to the farmers' account by the government.
• The first installment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi was released in February 2019. After this, the second installment was released on April 2, 2019, the third installment on August 2019, the fourth installment on January 2020, the fifth installment on April 1, 2020. Similarly, the sixth installment has been released on August 1, 2020, seventh installment December 2020, eighth installment on April 1, 2021, ninth installment on August 9, 2021, 10th installment on January 2022, 11th installment on May 2022 and now 12^th installment on October 17, 2022.
• It is known that PM Modi has transferred Samman Nidhi of Rs 16,000 crore directly to the bank accounts of more than 12 crore annadatas of the country while giving diwali gift.

Nirbhaya Fund to set up Women's Hostels in 10 Hilly Districts

Why In News?

 On October 17, 2022, Uttarakhand's Women Empowerment and Child Development Secretary H. C. Semwal said that in the meeting of the Project Approval Board of Nirbhaya Fund held in New Delhi, the board has given in-principle approval to the suggestion of construction of women's hostels in 10 hilly districts of Uttarakhand.

Key Point

• H.C. Semwal said that except Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar districts, these hostels in the remaining 10 hilly districts of the state will be constructed with the Nirbhaya Fund with the aim of providing a safe and protected environment to working women and studying girls.
• It is known that the Nirbhaya Fund is being operated by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Semwal informed the meeting that 2522 women and girls have been given self-defense related training from Nirbhaya Fund in five districts of the state - Bageshwar, Almora, Nainital, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar. At the same time, emphasis is also being laid on making a long-term plan for the state.
• The Secretary, Women Empowerment and Child Development said that it is necessary to keep women and child development at the center of localization of Sustainable Development Goals. If panchayats become pro-women and child-friendly, it will solve many problems on their own.